Write a Cover Letter for Me: Key to Success

Writing a cover letter is an essential part of job-searching process. On the contrary to resume, it’s often written for each particular role (or at least modified to meet the employer’s list of requirements and speak to them in their own language). Below we’ll consider what it takes to craft a quality cover letter and how it influences your chances of getting an interview. Even if you apply for jobs through online forms, there’s always the space to copy and paste your cover letter into. However, what if you have nothing to write as no ideas crosses your mind? Then, you can contact our certified professional resume writers and say, “Write my cover letter”. We know what it takes to create an attention-grabbing cover letter, and our expertise is at your disposal.

Basically, a successful cover letter is about highlighting your experience for the role, showing your educational background, outlining your soft skills and connecting with a hiring manager on a personal level. With a quality cover letter, you’ll have much higher chances for winning an interview (there are a few unputdownable in-person interview benefits) than without a cover letter or with a short and formal one. Moreover, we provide urgent assistance with resumes and cover letters – 24 hours delivery is available.

Help me write a cover letter: Why write a cover letter?

All cover letter faults come from underestimation of its significance for a job search. Here are the top reasons why you need a cover letter to land a new job:

It makes up for your resume
Traditionally, a cover letter is read prior to checking your resume and therefore it should motivate the hiring manager to do so. They are used to match your skills and experiences with the requirements of the job and portray you as a good fit for the role. Moreover, if your resume has flaws (unprofessionally done resumes often have them), a good covering letter can make up for them, strengthening your positive impression.

It demonstrates your writing skills
Professional editors and hiring managers can understand a lot about the person from his/her writing. Not only good writing skills are in demand for many office roles, but also clear and consistent writing indicates organized, educated and motivated individual. If your role implies frequent communication with clients, vendors or other departments within the organization, your cover letter serves as a sample of your work, to some extent – and this sample needs to be impressive. Check out our content writing tips for beginners if you don’t know how to organize your writing.

It shows your true interest to the role
Writing a cover letter for the specific job opening takes time and effort. Therefore, when you take your time to create a targeted cover letter, hiring managers will see that you are serious about getting the job. It doesn’t guarantee you an interview, but definitely puts you one step ahead of the applicants who didn’t send a cover letter.
Motivation and genuine interest in your jobs are the satellites of your career success. Learn more about professional development at the workplace from our short guide here: http://resumeperk.com/blog/importance-of-personal-development-in-the-workplace.

It lets you address touchy resume issues
Not many of us have a flawless work history. Job-hopping, taking a job outside of your general line of career or being off work for some time are quite common. Given that these issues are generally treaded negatively, you need to make them out. And that’s where cover letter can help. If you had one of the above issues in your career, you can touch upon the subject in a cover letter, explaining your gaps or job-hopping in a positive light.

It allows you to be creative
There has been multiple cases when a creative cover letter (which was written well, of course) was all that it takes to get someone a job. Poems, financial calculations, childhood stories are just a few examples of what you can turn your cover letter into. Success stories aren’t frequent, but if you are a creative type, why not give it a try?

Supplementing your resume with a cover letter is a good thing, even if the employer didn’t specifically ask for that. To make sure it’s a good supplement, use the tips below – they will help you significantly increase the quality of your cover letter.

Make it unique, don’t reiterate your resume
Resume and cover letter work together, but that doesn’t mean that they can contain the same information given in different form. Instead of repeating what’s on your resume, provide additional information for your key selling points. For instance, if your resume says that you’ve increased customer retention by 35%, expand on how you made it possible. Or, include the additional information which doesn’t belong to your resume.

Use a strong reason for your interest in a job
Nearly every resume says something like: “I have decided to express my interest in a role”, which makes little sense. First, the fact that you are sending in a cover letter IS showing interest in the job. And second, this cliché doesn’t give a clue about what is it in the role that evoked your interest. Use the first paragraph to explain what drives you to join the company – aligning your personal interests and values with the prospective role always works.

Keep it short and up-to-the-point
The times of lengthy cover letters are far gone. Now, you need to grab the hiring manager’s attention with a letter which is less than 1 page. The best cover letter length career experts recommend using is 3-4 paragraphs: opening, letter body and closing paragraph with a call to action. Longer is possible if you have 15+ years of work history, if you are a senior executive or apply for a position in academia – but generally, a cover letter needs to be short. This will also help you cut off the unnecessary and focus on most critical facts from your professional biography.
Resume length matters as well; see here how long a good resume should be: http://resumeperk.com/blog/perfect-length-of-your-resume.

Make your closing paragraph strong
The last paragraph of your cover letter should summarize what makes you perfect candidate for the job (in 1-2 lines) and contain a call to action. No need to repeat all your points once again – self-repetition adds no value to the letter and only makes it sound vague. Call to action should motivate the hiring manager to invite you for an interview. However, it’s even better if you decide to be proactive and write “I will follow up on the status of my application” and call them back in 1-2 weeks if no response.

Address hiring manager by the name
With LinkedIn at your disposal, it’s quite easy to find out who will be reviewing your application and address the person directly (not many applicants do so, and your letter will stand out just because of this trick). If the company has several persons or even departments which might be potentially screening resumes, stay on “Dear Hiring Manager” header – it’s a way better than “To whom it may concern”.

Focus on the company needs
Most people do the same mistake when writing a cover letter – they say that the role is great for them and will perfectly fit into their career plan. However, a cover letter, as well as the resume, should be focused on the employer’s needs and what you’re capable of delivering for the company.How to do this in writing? When expanding on your past successes, include those which are most relevant for the potential employer. Therefore, you will highlight the ability to deliver similar good results in the future. It is also a good idea to show awareness of the company’s needs and expectations for the role. For instance, if the company has many new clients but struggles turning them into returning customers, you need to specifically mention your ability to retain customers. Or, you can specify what exactly you plan to deliver if hired for the role – proactive approach is always valued.

Format and proofread carefully
If you send in your cover letter as a PDF of DOC file, make sure it is formatted properly and its formatting is the same as in your resume (i.e. the same font type, size, alignment, etc.). You can use resume formatting tips for cover letter as well. Basically, you’ll need to add spacing between paragraphs, after the header and before your signature. Best font size is between 10 and 12 pts – it looks professional and is easy to read. Make sure to add one of the commonly used fonts such as Arial, Calibri, etc.
Formatting adds to visual appearance of your resume. Proofreading, in its turn, helps you eliminate minor grammar, punctuation errors and typos. Therefore, you’ll make an impression as a person attentive to detail.

You might have heard the rumor that hiring managers don’t read cover letter these days. There’s some truth in it. Firstly, this is because of the growing number of job applications (who can read over 100 of cover letters?). And secondly, most cover letters sound like a resume and add no value to the employer. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t send a cover letter at all.

The fact of applying with a cover letter is as important as always. In other words, even if the hiring manager won’t take a look at your letter, the sole fact that you sent it in will be critical for you to be considered for the role. If you need more in-depth guidance on cover letter writing, check our blog.

Need a winning cover letter?

Although some of hiring managers don’t read cover letters, some of them still do. And if you happen to be reviewed by a person who is very picky about these letters, you’ll want your application to be perfect. If you are not happy with how you cover letter looks now, consider contacting writing professionals.

Our team of resume writers has been providing help writing a cover letter for over 9 years. We serve professionals from all industries, from law and military to art and IT. Our company offers delivery according to the deadline you choose and satisfaction guarantee – the writer will work on your letter until you are totally satisfied with the copy. Moreover, our pricing policy is affordable – fees for cover letters start at $35 only.

A good cover letter is still the essential part of writing process – so, make sure to prepare your documents in advance to focus entirely on job search.

Have you ever ordered a cover letter to be written professionally? Were you happy with the quality of writing?